TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing and conceptualizing frontal EEG asymmetry
T2 - An updated primer on recording, processing, analyzing, and interpreting frontal alpha asymmetry
AU - Smith, Ezra E.
AU - Reznik, Samantha J.
AU - Stewart, Jennifer L.
AU - Allen, John J.B.
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01 MH066902 and R21 MH101398). The authors wish to thank Michael Goldstein for discussions concerning IC-based artifact correction approaches.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - Frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha asymmetry is widely researched in studies of emotion, motivation, and psychopathology, yet it is a metric that has been quantified and analyzed using diverse procedures, and diversity in procedures muddles cross-study interpretation. The aim of this article is to provide an updated tutorial for EEG alpha asymmetry recording, processing, analysis, and interpretation, with an eye towards improving consistency of results across studies. First, a brief background in alpha asymmetry findings is provided. Then, some guidelines for recording, processing, and analyzing alpha asymmetry are presented with an emphasis on the creation of asymmetry scores, referencing choices, and artifact removal. Processing steps are explained in detail, and references to MATLAB-based toolboxes that are helpful for creating and investigating alpha asymmetry are noted. Then, conceptual challenges and interpretative issues are reviewed, including a discussion of alpha asymmetry as a mediator/moderator of emotion and psychopathology. Finally, the effects of two automated component-based artifact correction algorithms—MARA and ADJUST—on frontal alpha asymmetry are evaluated.
AB - Frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha asymmetry is widely researched in studies of emotion, motivation, and psychopathology, yet it is a metric that has been quantified and analyzed using diverse procedures, and diversity in procedures muddles cross-study interpretation. The aim of this article is to provide an updated tutorial for EEG alpha asymmetry recording, processing, analysis, and interpretation, with an eye towards improving consistency of results across studies. First, a brief background in alpha asymmetry findings is provided. Then, some guidelines for recording, processing, and analyzing alpha asymmetry are presented with an emphasis on the creation of asymmetry scores, referencing choices, and artifact removal. Processing steps are explained in detail, and references to MATLAB-based toolboxes that are helpful for creating and investigating alpha asymmetry are noted. Then, conceptual challenges and interpretative issues are reviewed, including a discussion of alpha asymmetry as a mediator/moderator of emotion and psychopathology. Finally, the effects of two automated component-based artifact correction algorithms—MARA and ADJUST—on frontal alpha asymmetry are evaluated.
KW - Frontal EEG asymmetry
KW - ICA artifact correction
KW - Signal processing
KW - Statistical models
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.11.005
DO - 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.11.005
M3 - Article
C2 - 27865882
AN - SCOPUS:85007392053
SN - 0167-8760
VL - 111
SP - 98
EP - 114
JO - International Journal of Psychophysiology
JF - International Journal of Psychophysiology
ER -